Creativity often happens in quiet ways — a pen scratching on paper, a paintbrush gliding over canvas, hands shaping clay on a pottery wheel. The click of a camera lens. The rustle of fabric as a sewing machine hums and whirs.
These acts tend to be solitary ones, the vision confined to the artist carrying it out. No words spoken or ideas exchanged. The desire to create comes from within, and often that’s where it stays.
And yet when I walked into the Kimball Jenkins Carriage House for a meeting of the Highly Seasoned Artists, a local female artist collective, the room was anything but quiet.
Laughter reverberated from the ceiling, and the sunlight warming the walls mirrored the vibrance of the women themselves as they twisted wire into different configurations and chatted about their technique.
This edition of Around Concord captures the intersection of creativity and community — from Highly Seasoned Artists, who meet once a month to share their work and try new projects together, to Savvy Sweet Treats, a local baking business started by Bow resident Ashley Savoy. You’ll also get to meet members of the Granite State Roller Derby Team, who treasure the time they spend together and find that their sport serves as a means of creative expression.
Within these pages, there’s also a Q&A with renowned New Hampshire author Sy Montgomery, who finds kindship with animals and translates her experiences into books.
I hope these stories resonate with you the way they’ve resonated with me — and I hope they inspire you to find the kindred spirits around whom you can be your full self.
Wishing you some wonderful reading ahead,
Rachel Wachman, Editor